Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That should be an important part of the discussion. If it is the will of the people in this country that we should embark on divestment and purchasing sites and hospitals, it means we are suggesting that we use part of the finite health budget to buy hospital facilities that are currently available to us and providing a service. Perhaps that is the direction we need to take, but we must have that conversation. The Deputy is entirely correct that it must be in discussion with the voluntary hospitals. Some political parties in the House have suggested that I should, as it were, sneak in and seize hospitals from voluntary groups in the middle of the night. There are laws and a Constitution in this country so we must have a conversation, just as we have done in education. If we have that conversation I believe the health service can benefit and we can ensure that we keep the best parts of the tapestry. Some of the hospitals I have listed on the record of the House have very fine traditions of providing an excellent health service to the people of this country. However, as we move forward and invest in and build new hospitals, the point I have heard clearly from the Irish people is that they have strong views on the type of governance structure we should have in place in those new hospitals.

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